SPRING, Texas – In a heartwarming show of kindness, the community rallied today around Shirley, a Baskin Robbins employee in Spring, whose story of resilience and dedication touched hearts across the city.
Shirley, who works at the Stuebner Airline Rd. location, shared with a customer that she took the job to help cover grocery costs.
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That customer was Tattoo Frank, a local tattoo artist. He described how that visit to Baskin Robbins earlier this week took a surprising turn.
“I came over here after a motorcycle ride…feeling under the weather. Ice cream makes me happy,” he shared. “I met this lady. I got a $5 ice cream. I gave her a $5 tip…She started immediately crying…I didn’t know what I’d done to make her cry,” Frank said.
Moved by her reaction, he learned she was struggling financially and handed her the rest of the cash he had on him.
“Then she really started crying,” he recalled.
Determined to help Shirley more, Frank took to social media, sharing her story and encouraging others to support her. That provided the spark for “Operation Help Shirley.”
“Next thing you know…I get done [with my tattoo], I look on my social media, it had blown up,” he said, adding, “I even had companies reaching out to me. I had Captain Brad’s, I had the KPRC 2 news…Everybody reached out and wanted to open up their arms and give a helping hand.”
Frank’s post quickly amassed hundreds of shares, likes, and comments, with people offering household goods, cash, and even salon services for Shirley.
Today, the community’s outpouring of support continued as locals flocked to Baskin Robbins, forming a line out the door when the shop opened at 11 a.m.
Many visitors brought donations, gifts, and messages of encouragement, showing Shirley how much her story has resonated.
“I feel so thankful for how the community is stepping up to help me,” Shirley said.
Located at 16836 Stuebner Airline Rd, Baskin Robbins will continue hosting “Operation Help Shirley” as the community shows kindness and support in their own unique ways.